Laughter through Time: The Purpose of Comedy in Lysistrata and The Importance of Being Earnest

Introduction

Aristophanes penned the legendary play Lysistrata which has been performed many times during the past. This is a comic account marked by satire and relates the tale of the central character Lysistrata to bring a halt to the Peloponnesian War. On the other hand, the play The Importance of Being Earnest, penned by Oscar Wilde too has survived through time and stands as one of the examples of comedy from the past times . Both Aristophanes' Lysistrata and Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest satarize the role of men and women in society, however, Aristophanes does so through critiquing the political environment of Athens, while Wilde criticizes the social roles and customs within Victorian society. In fact, women in both plays are the power seekers, who desires to get recognized for their roles.

Discussion

As concerns the depiction of the role of men and women in society, the drama lays down how a man who is fascinated with a women can be willing to take on another role, that of a person whom he is not (Parker, p. 105). On the other hand, the character of the lady who is fascinated with Ernest, is another depintion of women and how they could love a person only because of their name and not for their personality or personal traits. This is not how relationship are or should be formed.

The best part of the play is the way it tackles the social as well as political issues of the time. The paper depicts the cleverness of the author and his command over usage of comedy. The laughter through time has been shaped by the drama in that it came up with the idea that comedy is not something that can only used to make people laugh. Instead, comedy is something that can touch people . He tells the dilemma of a person who tries to live double lives. One of his own and one of another character that he claims to be himself. the best of this play which makes it slightly different from the other play is that it is very very light hearted. In addition, while the other play was a satire aimed at talking of the social roles of men and women in the social context, this one also has a touch of political shortcomings of the system . Triviality is one of the major themes of the novel. It is a satire of the society.

The drama here is a mix of comedy as well as tragedy . However, it is imperative to state that the focus of the drama remains on the shortcomings in the society and the traditional roles of men and women. The main theme of the play is to focus on this . In doing so, the author highlights the stereotypes and the status quo and how the two function in the society (Spininger, p. 50).

The play also demonstrates and ...